Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/11280345.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Batman_-_All_Media_Types, Batman_(Movies_-_Nolan)
  Relationship:
      Bane/Talia_al_Ghul
  Character:
      Talia_al_Ghul, Bane_(DCU), Barsad_(Dark_Knight_Rises), manipulation_-
      Character, Canonical_Character_Death_-_Character
  Collections:
      TDKR_Fanworks_Gift_Exchange_2017
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-06-23 Words: 5649
****** Consumed By Her Fire ******
by pinkys_creature_feature
Summary
     This is my fic for: themoonobserved! My prompt was: Longterm
     development of Talia's plan. I strayed a little bit but I hope they
     really like this!
     Note: Talia is 16 when things happen so I tagged it as underage.
     The prison had fallen silent when Bane heard the sound of tiny feet on the
stone floor. He lifted his head from the pitiful folded blanket he used as a
pillow to see the child slipping between the bars and into his cell.
 
     “Bane!” she whispered. Her innocent smile glowed in the meagre moonlight.
 
     “What are you doing little one? Your mother will worry if she wakes and
you aren’t there. You should go to bed,” Bane suggested. He was unsure of how
to deal with the girl but she had taken a liking to him when she was just an
infant and, as the years progressed, Bane felt the need to protect her at any
cost.
 
     Talia pouted before crawling onto Bane’s cot and slipping under his arm.
She was small for a four year old and felt fragile as she laid in his arms.
During the day she stayed close to her mother, instinctively aware of the
dangers around her. But at night she became brave and would venture into his
cell, wanting Bane to tell her stories.
 
     She knew him as the man that had always protected her mother and her trust
in him frightened Bane.
 
     Bane would tell her stories from some of the books he was able to acquire,
telling her of knights and queens until she was asleep in his arms.
 
    In the mornings her mother would collect her with gentle scoldings. It
amazed Bane that something so gentle as a mother’s love could survive in that
hell on Earth.   
 
***************
 
    When Talia was nine, she would visit him almost every night, telling Bane
about what she had seen around the prison. She had grown too old for his
stories but she would still curl up with him in his cot, rambling about nothing
in particular.
 
    Bane knew she was afraid, her delicate frame would shiver in his arms.
Others in the prison had started to take interest in her and, even though she
dressed as a boy, it didn’t protect her from some of the more deviant
prisoners.
 
    Bane did.
 
    Little Talia didn’t know about all the necks he had snapped to keep her
safe. If anyone took too much of an interest in her, Bane would see to it that
they could never lay a hand on her. When someone was brazen enough to try to
lure her away from him or her mother, Bane would take care of them after the
sun went down. Leaving their bodies around the well as an example and a
reminder to others.
 
    The child was protected.
 
    He didn’t tell Talia these things. Even in the pit he wanted her to be able
to retain some of her innocence. So he let her tell him stories until she fell
quiet and still in his arms.
 
***************
 
     Bane missed Talia. When things had become too dangerous, when her mother
was killed and she was exposed, Bane helped her to freedom. The look in her
eyes when she realized he couldn’t follow her was burned into his mind.
 
     All he knew now was pain. Pain from the injuries inflicted by the mob, and
the pain from the haphazard work of the prison doctor. Sometimes he would dream
of Talia when the doctor shared his morphine and Bane was able to rest.
 
     He thought of the night before she flew to freedom, how she talked
bitterly about others in the prison. She was becoming hardened, taking to
carrying a small knife with her.
 
     Talia had wrapped his arms around her and asked him if he would always be
there to protect her. He didn’t know he was lying when he said he would.
 
     He wondered where she was now, what the world was like outside the pit. He
wondered about anything to keep his mind from the pain.
   
     Before his disfigurement, he had thought about escaping with Talia and her
mother. They could have blended it anywhere. Bane had never been vain, but now
his face was disfigured, making living outside the pit even more of a distant
dream.
 
     The doctor came by his cell, guilt for leaving Talia’s cell unlocked had
been eating away a the man. He brought Bane more medicine, saying he would not
accept payment because he was the one at fault. It was only fair.
 
     Bane slept, dreaming of the blue eyed child that he had watched cheat
death and fly away.
 
***************
 
     Talia came for him.
 
    Bane was surprised when the prison was descended upon and he was granted
freedom. He watched some of the men being dispatched as he climbed his way to
the light and felt nothing for their lives.
 
     Then she was there, standing in the sand. She had grown into a lovely
young woman but Bane could not mistake the fire in her eyes. At first she
recoiled from his injuries, but quickly she softened and nursed him to health
with the help of the league doctors.
 
     Once he was well, Talia would come to his bed at night to avoid her
father’s eye. She would brush her fingers over his mask and tell him of the
time she had spent there with her father.
 
     Most nights she slept in his arms and Bane felt whole again. Talia was
safe and he was there to keep it that way.
 
***************
 
     The night of Talia’s sixteenth Birthday, she went to Bane as she had most
nights since he had been saved from the pit. There was something different this
night. Something about the way she touched him, the way she slotted herself
against his body stirred feeling that made him uncomfortable.
 
     When she had become brave and tried to slip a hand into his pants he had
sent her away for the first time. He had no idea what she thought she was doing
but he could only dirty her with his touch.
 
     “No one will love you like I do,” she whispered, the next night, her lips
brushing against the grating of his mask. He could almost feel the ghost of her
lips on his.
 
    She was right. Before, he may have been considered handsome. Now he was a
beast.
 
     “Why do you want me?” Bane asked, holding her shoulders to keep distance
between them on the small bed.
 
     “Because you would rather touch me than let someone else handle me
roughly.”
 
    Blane studied her for a moment, her eyes alight in the darkness. He brushed
his calloused thumb over her lips, the closest thing he could give her that
resembled a kiss, before turning her away with a promise that he would be there
when she was truly ready.
 
    She left him, storming from his room with all the fervor of a slighted
teenager.
 
    She didn’t come to him for three days after that.
 
 
    “I love you, Bane. My protector,” Talia whispered, as she guided Bane’s
hands over her body.  
 
    Bane couldn’t resist her anymore, his own desires had grown to a fire as
his mask brought his pain under control. He had not sought his own release in
years. But it was never like this; purely quick transactions to exert power or
gain favor in the prison.
 
    Talia was soft, her curves fit against him like she was made just for him.
She pressed her back against his chest and guided his hand under the hem of her
underwear, showing him how she wanted to be touched.
 
    Her quite cries filled Bane’s ears as he fought the urge to rut himself
against her backside. Talia released one of his hands to brush her fingers over
his side before gripping his length firmly through his loose fisherman’s pants.
 
    Bane’s hiss was muffled by the mask but he couldn’t hide the way he
shivered at her touch. Her folds were slick under his fingers and she grew
bolder, pulling at the tie on his pants and grasping him skin to skin. Bane
could no longer stop the roll of his hips, thrusting into her fist.
 
    Bane lost himself when she shivered apart against him, his name on her
lips. He came with a gasp, spilling over her hand and hip.
 
    She stayed with him that night, slipping out when the grey morning light
started to filter through the window.
 
***************
 
     Talia rushed into Bane’s room, her face tear-stained. He was lying awake,
already aware of what had Talia in such a state: her father wanted him gone. He
was to be formally excommunicated the following day, cast out, never to see
Talia again.
 
     Her Father claimed it was because Bane reminded him of the hell he had
left his wife to die in. But Bane knew the truth. He didn’t want Talia to be so
close with Bane. She was far too good for the likes of him. Bane wanted to kill
him but he wouldn’t break Talia’s heart like that.
 
     Bane took Talia in his arms, shushing her until her tears stopped.
 
    “He can’t take you away from me,” she whispered against his chest.
 
    Bane sat silently, memorising the sound of her voice, the texture of her
skin, fearing that he would never see her again.
 
     “Bane, I need you, he can’t do this to us.” Her eyes were red when she
gazed up at him. She moved suddenly, throwing a leg over his hips. She moved
into Bane’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Take me tonight?” Her
question sounded more like a order.
 
     “Talia, I cannot, will not, defile you in such a manner,” Bane protested,
gripping her hips gently, ready to dislodge her.
 
     “My Bane,” she said sweetly, stroking her fingers over his shaved head.
“If you don’t want me, I can find someone who does. But I don’t think that’s
what you want.”
 
     Talia pulled her robe over her head, exposing the bare skin of her breasts
and stomach. Bane struggled but failed to keep his hands on her hips. They slid
slowly up her sides, moving to cup her breasts.
 
     This was familiar. Over the last year and a half, he had learned how to
touch her, bring her to the heights of pleasure. He would never take her
though, no matter how much she pleaded. It was a line he wasn’t sure he could
cross with her. If her father found out, he might die instead of being cast
out.
 
     Talia rolled her hips against his, her knees spread wide to encompass
Bane’s waist. She sighed happily as Bane massaged her breasts, thumbing her
nipples until they peaked. Talia took his hands and kissed each fingertip
before she untied Bane’s pants and pulled his member free. She rutted against
his length, her leggings rubbing him almost uncomfortably.
 
     “I want you my protector, only you. Give me this to remember you by.”
Talia let Bane lift her off of him and to the side. He slid the leggings down
her legs, quickly moving to pleasure her with his fingers.
 
     She was truly beautiful like this. She was glowing under his touch, color
spreading across her cheeks. She whispered his name as she came apart at his
touch.
 
     Bane wanted to bury himself inside her and feel her around him, but he
couldn’t. While she was still catching her breath, he moved behind her,
slipping between her moist thighs. She huffed out a frustrated noise and tried
to twist her hips to try to get him inside her.
 
     Bane buried his masked face in the crook of her neck, gripping her hip to
keep Talia from trying that again. She soon gave up the fight, squeezing her
thighs together.
 
     Talia threw her head back, brushing her lips across Bane’s cheek as he
found the right friction for her. He held on to his control just long enough to
feel her tremble around him before he allowed himself to spill over her thighs.
 
     “Sometimes you are infuriating,” Talia muttered, slowly catching her
breath. Bane knew that the hours were growing short, so he cleaned them both up
and held her while they slept.
 
 
***************
 
 
     Bane dreamed of Talia while he slept on a bed of hay in a drafty barn
somewhere in China. He hadn’t stopped traveling after he was forced to leave
the league. He learned the languages every he traveled to and met a man as lost
as he was.
 
     Barsad, with his sad eyes, took to traveling with him. Both of them
running from things they didn’t want to discuss. Bane had never had friends in
the prison, they were merely a weakness to be exploited by enemies. Barsad was
an anomaly to him with his lack of fear and calm violence. They made each other
less lonely.
 
     Barsad was there when Talia found him nearly five years later. She was as
beautiful as ever but her eyes had grown hard. She welcomed Barsad to travel
with them and join the League of Shadows.
 
     “Bruce Wayne killed my father. It’s my job to carry out my father’s wishes
and cleanse Gotham.” Her voice was full of fury as she whispered to him in the
train car as they traveled to a League stronghold. He was glad to have her back
but she was a changed woman. She spit her words with a venom that Bane had
never heard from her before.
 
     “I will break that traitor for what he has done to me,” she vowed, tears
welling in her eyes, reminding him of the child she once was.
 
     Bane could not care less about what had happened to her father, he was a
brutish and selfish man, but the fact that it had caused her so much pain made
his blood boil under his skin. Someone had hurt Talia. He would find this Bruce
Wayne and make him pay.
 
***************
 
     Barsad became a valued member of the League of Shadows but made it known
to Bane that his loyalty lied only with him. He expressed his doubts about
Talia’s intentions but Bane angrily shut him down.
 
     Talia was his light. She could never be tainted in his eyes. Barsad was
wrong about her.
 
     Taila came to Bane that night, dressed in a flowing gown. She moved so
smoothly it was as if she was floating. She curled next to him, resting her
forehead against Bane’s.
 
     “My protector, I’m so glad to have you back. I have missed you,” she
muttered in a low voice.
 
     She stayed with him all night, touching his face as if she was trying to
remember every line and scar. She told Bane about her father's plan. How Bruce
had come to the league and nearly destroyed it, burning the temple in Tibet to
the ground. She told him how her father had tried to take revenge but that
Bruce had killed him. She talked about Bruce donning a mask and becoming a hero
for his rotting city.
 
     She wanted to take everything Bruce had ever loved away from him. She
wanted him to watch it all burn to the ground.
 
     Bane held her tight. He would be beside her, whatever she had in mind.
 
***************
 
     Barsad didn’t handle the heat in Africa as well as Bane did. They were
there to support a coup to help Talia’s contact gain money and power. They were
able to build a small army of rebels and arm them. Now it was only a matter of
time before the government slipped and it would light the fire that would
scorch the ground beneath them.
 
     Bane watched over Barsad after he became ill, spending nights in Barsad’s
tent, trying to keep the man cool with wet cloths. The sounds of battle echoed
in the distance. It seemed to disturb Barsad, making him twitch and shiver in
his slumber. He had never told Bane about his past but enough was gathered from
his reactions to know he had seen battle in his previous life.
 
     Bane heard a scuffle outside the tent followed by a hail of gunfire. He
moved quickly to seek out the disturbance and found a few government military
operatives looting the camp. Bane dispatched them with quick brutality, leaving
their broken corpses in the open as a warning to others who would try the same.
 
     The coup was over in a matter of weeks and Barsad was beside him, walking
through the streets littered with the bodies of rebels and government fighters.
 
     “All of this for a diamond mine. Such a waste,” Barsad commented, kicking
a vulture away from the corpse it was pecking at so that he could take a knife
off the body.
 
     “It wasn’t about the mine for these men. It was an idea. Ideas hold a lot
of power for those who will fight for them.” Bane felt nothing for the dead. He
had been their leader but he did not understand or care for their ideals. They
were a means to his end. To Talia’s end.
 
     Bane kneeled over the President and his wife’s charred bodies. The wife’s
extravagant diamond necklace was still around her neck. Without a second
thought, he gripped the chain, pulling it through the remains of the woman’s
throat with a tug. It would be put to better use draped around Talia’s neck.
 
     Talia had been pleased when she visited him in Cairo. She had slipped
effortlessly into the persona of an up-and-coming business woman and the
glittering necklace fit perfectly with her stylish clothes. Bane had never
understood the lavishness of the modern world. In his mind it was a selfish and
garrish act to extort wealth from the lower class.
 
     Talia seemed untainted by her opulent surroundings, though. Her fire still
burned brightly for all who were willing to see it.
   
     She had kissed his mask that night when she sought pleasure from his
touch, telling him how she would bring justice to Gotham and to Bruce Wayne.
 
***************
 
     Bane sat with Barsad as they shared a simple meal. Tomorrow they were to
take Dr. Pavel.
 
     Barsad was more quiet that he usually was. His movements were jerky as he
dipped his bread in the stew.
 
     “What is bothering you brother?” Bane asked, slipping his mask back over
his face. Barsad was the only person besides Talia to see his face and he
understood the trust that that entailed.
 
     “I don’t like this plan. Something about it doesn’t sit right with me,”
Barsad said simply.
 
     “We need to take Pavel and make it look like he died in the crash. It’s a
good plan.”
 
     “Of course. It’s your plan. That’s not the one I am worried about.” Barsad
rested his elbows on his knees and lowered his voice. “Talia’s plan is too
drawn out. It leaves too much to chance.”
 
     Bane wasn’t pleased with Barsad’s dissent, crossing his arms over his
chest. “She wants Wayne to suffer. What better way than to see the city he
tries to protect slowly tear itself apart?”
 
     Barsad thought out his words carefully before he spoke. “It seems that she
wants us all to burn with the city. I will die for you. But I will not die for
her vengeance.”
 
     “I would gladly die for her if she wished it.” Bane narrowed his eyes at
Barsad, the warning left unsaid.
 
     “I will follow you into the fire, my brother.” Barsad clasped Bane’s hand
when it was offered.
 
     The next morning Barsad fixed a black bag over Bane’s head. “I will see
you soon brother.”
 
     Bane only nodded as he hands were bound and he was led to the land rover
that awaited them.
 
***************
 
     Talia called him to the royally appointed penthouse—formally owned by John
Daggett—where some of their men had set up a base. It was early in the morning,
the sun hadn’t made itself known yet.
 
     “Today, my love, we will bring Gotham to it’s knees.” Her eyes burned like
blue fire as she kneeled next to Bane, taking his hand in hers. “Everything is
going as planned. We have the reactor. Bruce is such a silly man, so ignorant.”
She kissed Bane’s knuckles before brushing her cheek against them.
 
     Bane helped her to her feet and held her close. He would not see her for
several months as the city fell into disarray. He wished he could memorize the
faint scent of her skin.
 
     She asked him again to take her that night and Bane was tempted. Her fire
burned so hot it threatened to incinerate him. He skin burned under his fingers
and her nails were like claws as she tore at his skin.
 
     He denied her offer but allowed her to take him between her lips, tainting
them with his seed.
 
     She removed his mask then, kissing his torn lips, the taste of himself on
them. “You are mine. Always. We will dance together in the ashes of the city,”
she whispered before slipping from the bed.
 
     She was gone as quickly as she had come.
 
***************
 
 
 
     Snowflakes drifted slowly by the window. The city had been under Bane’s
occupation for months and he lorded over them from Daggett’s penthouse, giving
the image of the warlord he was supposed to be.
 
     Bane detested the expensive trappings and had stripped his room of all if
its finery. He moved his mattress to the floor after finding it far too soft.
He gave the wooden frame to his men for the fires.
   
     Barsad was becoming extremely displeased and uneasy with Talia’s plan.
“She is going to have us go down with this wretched city,” he had hissed when
they were alone. “Wayne is here. In the city. We could easily leave and watch
the bomb take it all out.”
 
     “You forget your place.” Bane glared at his brother, stepping into his
personal space, but Barsad was not intimidated. “If we are to be consumed by
the flames of Talia’s revenge then so be it.”
 
     “You are blind to her. She is not this pillar of purity that you believe.
You should not sacrifice your life for her vendetta,” Barsad pleaded with Bane,
tried to explain that staying in the city left the plan open for failure.
 
     Bane shut him down, stopping short of striking his brother. He couldn’t
listen to Barsad spew venom about Talia.
 
     Bane stormed from the meeting room, the men in the hallway scattered to
get out of his way. Bane shut himself in his room, the heavy door dulling the
clamor outside. The days were counting down and Bane hadn’t seen Talia since
she had called for him.
 
     He couldn’t shake the feeling that Barsad may be right. Perhaps this plan
didn’t have to end with them dying in the city. But if it was Talia’s wish, he
would gladly die by her side.
 
    The day before the bomb was set to go off, Talia was brought before Crane’s
court. He had her taken to him in the penthouse.
 
     Barsad’s distaste was visible to Bane, even if he tried to hide it. Bane
attempted ignored the concerns that Barsad had made him feel as he led Talia to
his room.
 
     Once inside, she turned to him with a broad smile. “It’s coming to an end.
Bruce is here in Gotham. He will try to stop us but there is nothing he can
do.”
 
     Bane watched her as she shed her scarf and coat. “Is our presence
necessary for the plan to be complete?” Bane asked.
 
     Talia stopped in her tracks, turning towards Bane. “You doubt me?” she
asked, the smile from before vanished.
 
     “Never.” Bane winced internally at the lie.
 
     “Good. I want to watch as the fire consumes Bruce, it will be exquisite.”
She approached Bane, slipping her hands over his chest to push his coat off his
shoulders. Bane let her remove his armor before sweeping her up in his arms. He
had missed her.
 
     “Bane, my darling, my love. Tonight I will ask again, one final time, for
you to take me,” she whispered against his chest, her hands splaying across his
sides.
 
     “Talia, I cannot. You know this.” Bane felt her fingers tighten into claws
before she pushed him away. Bane was shocked by the furious expression on her
face.
 
     “You deny me? After everything, you would deny me this?” She shoved Bane
hard, catching him off guard.
 
     Talia's anger had never been turned on him before and Bane was unsure how
to handle her. Suddenly she struck him, a hard blow to the cheek that would
bring any other man man to his knees.
 
     “You say you love me. Then prove it.” Talia set on him, viciously biting
him as she pulled at his clothes. Bane grabbed her arms, trying to still her.
 
     “I do love you. I am willing to die for you. What you are asking….I cannot
taint you with my sins.”
 
     Talia’s laugh was dark as she threw her head back. “Taint me? Like you
haven’t tainted my skin, my lips?” She slipped from Bane’s grip and pressed
herself against him, running her fingers over the front of his pants. She
smiled when she felt him growing hard. “You could never taint me. But Bruce. He
could.” She looked him in the eye as she continued, “and he did. As did many
before him.”
 
     Anger like Bane had never felt before flowed through him, he wanted to
kill Bruce Wayne and every other man to touch her. He roughly shoved Talia
away, afraid that he would hurt her in his anger. When he moved for the door,
she slipped in front of him, nails digging into his chin as she forced him to
look at her.
 
     “Burn his touch from my body.” Her eyes were lit with excitement, like
this was what she had really wanted; him angry and at her mercy. She stepped
away, pulling her shirt over her head. She slid her pants down her thighs and
stepped out of them before lowering herself on Bane’s bed. “Take me and cleanse
them from my memory.”
 
     Bane watched her as she slipped her under garments off, her pale skin a
stark contrast to the dark sheets. Bane battled with himself for a moment. He
should leave, walk away from Talia, but he couldn’t. His feet moved on their
own accord, like she had him by the soul and was drawing him in.
 
     He let her strip him and press him to the mattress. She was soft against
him, willing his desire to grow again until he couldn’t stop himself from
touching her. He let every gasp, every noise she made, be burned into his
memory. As it was their last night on Earth, he decided to allow himself this
selfish pleasure.
 
    When she climbed over him, he gripped her hips harder than he should,
reveling in her reactions. She was wet and warm against him, her hips rolling
slowly until she slowly took him in.
 
    Bane squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed by the feeling of her around him.
He had never taken a woman and wondered if it was always like this or if it was
because of his attachment to her.
 
    “Bane, look at me,” Talia ordered. When he opened his eyes, her hair was
loose around her flushed cheeks. She was radiant. She lit up his world like the
fire he had always seen in her.
 
    Bane planted his feet, letting himself thrust up into her. Talia’s lips
fell open and she raised his fingers to her lips, kissing each tip. Soon she
was moving, rolling her hips to control the pace. Her nails dug into his
stomach as she began to move forcefully, wringing sounds from Bane he had never
heard himself make except when he was in pain.
 
    She seemed spurred on by his reactions, squeezing him with her body until
he couldn’t take it anymore and came with a roar. When he buried himself inside
her he could feel her reach her end. She cried out, a single tear slipping from
the corner of her eye.
 
    Afterwards she laid with him, soothing the scratches she left on his body.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have been so cruel to you. You deserve
better.”
 
    Bane held her close, trying to ignore the guilt trying to claw its way out
of him. It was what she had wanted. He shouldn’t have denied her in the first
place. “I deserve only you.”
 
    “Then we will die together, happy with the knowledge that Gotham and Bruce
Wayne burn with us.”
 
***************
 
     Talia had Bruce right where she wanted him. She twisted the knife as she
carefully reconnected the broken hoses on Bane’s mask. She looked like what an
angel would look like—at least from what Bane had heard—her eyes were more
gentle than he had ever seen them.
 
     A single tear slid down his cheek. They would soon say goodbye forever. He
hoped that in whatever afterlife was waiting for him, he could find her.
 
     She asked him not to kill Bruce but to let him feel the flames as the city
burned. As she touched his mask, telling him goodbye for the last time, he knew
he would not be able to honor her last wishes.
 
     Barsad gave him a knowing look before nodding and following Talia. She
gave him a final look before stepping out into the light. His heart was already
breaking. He turned his pain and anger on Bruce, kicking him violently.
 
     His heart hurt so much the blast from the batcycle was a welcomed relief.
When his eyes fell shut, he was sure Talia would be waiting on him on the other
side.
 
***************
   
     “My protector, where are you?” Talia’s voice echoed in Bane’s head. He
opened his eyes with a start. He was still alive. Gotham was still standing.
Something had gone wrong.
 
     He groaned with pain as he peeled his bloody, dented armor from his chest.
He realized his own voice was unfiltered and felt the remains of the mask on
his face. He had no idea how long he had been out for but he knew he needed to
get out of there while he still could.
 
     Pain ripped through him as he stumbled to his feet. He had to find
somewhere safe until he could find Talia.
 
     He ended up in the sewers. Their gear was still there and he used it to
try and patch himself up. He slumped onto a pile of cloths, pain and exhaustion
sapping his strength. He let himself sleep, hoping that he wouldn’t wake up.
 
***************
 
     “Bane, you promised to protect me. Why are you not with me, by my side?”
Talia was there, sitting at his feet. Her skin pale as death. He blinked and
she was gone, vanished, leaving nothing but dust.
 
     Bane knew she was dead. He had seen the wreckage and tried to collect her
broken body. He took her with him to the sewers until he could find a proper
place to set her to rest. It was a week later when the smell drove him to
action.
 
     She was much lighter than she had been in life. He wrapped her carefully
in a sheet and carried her through the tunnels, trying to remember which bends
led where. The pain from the wound in his chest caused him to have to stop and
rest until it subsided.
 
     It took him nearly a day to find an open field. It wasn’t a mountain top
but it would have to do. He left her there, offering her to the bird so that
she would be taken to the skies and finally be free.
 
**********
 
     Bane’s wound burned with infection. He welcomed the death that would
surely come. He didn’t make it back to the sewers and had found an abandoned
house to take shelter in. It had been almost a week and he could barely move
because of the pain and fever. His sweat dampened his makeshift bed in the
living room. All the windows were boarded up to block out the light. He was
almost sad there was no one to take him to be fed to the birds.
 
     He let his eyes slip closed, hoping it was the last time.
 
     “Why have you not joined me, my love?” Talia whispered, she was sitting at
the end of the dusty pallet. Her body showing signs of decay, her skin dark and
loose. One blue eye still watched him while the other was nothing but a sunken
empty socket.
 
     “Why are you here?” Bane asked.
 
     “I came back for you twice. Did you not believe I would come again?” Her
mouth didn’t move, it was hanging open like it had when he had left her in the
field.  
 
     She began to move, her rotting muscles tearing with sickening pops as she
clutched his pants, dragging herself up his legs.
 
     “Join me Bane. Be with me.”
 
     Bane’s breath came in ragged huffs as her cold, crumbling hands pulled at
his shirt. He was frozen to the spot, terrified of this Talia. This ghastly
phantom.
 
     “You promised you would follow me forever. Why did you lie to me?”
 
     He could smell her now, a putrid awful stench hanging in the air. Her
lovely face now a barely recognizable mask of death and pain. Bane willed
himself to move, to push her off, but his body was too weak to respond.
 
     She was looming over him, strands of her hair separating from her scalp,
falling around him.
 
     “I will take you with me. We will be together. Forever.”
 
     Bane felt the scream bubbling in his throat when the door was thrown open.
 
     Suddenly she was gone.
 
    Bane shivered, his body unable to fight the fever any longer. He gathered
the strength to raise his head. To see who had banished the nightmare that was
his beloved.
 
     A man stood in the doorway, in a halo of sunlight. “You can’t die yet
brother. I am still here.”
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